Robbie Leonard Is Unfit to Serve

The last person who should be a State's Attorney is somebody who has disdains people like this guy

Multi-time failed candidate for public office Robbie Leonard has decided that he is going to launch a primary challenge against Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger next year:

Leonard, an attorney of 13 years who currently serves as secretary of the Maryland Democratic Party, sees a changing political tide in Baltimore County when it comes to criminal justice reform — one that accelerated in the wake of national protests last year after George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer. Chauvin was later convicted of second-degree murder.

“Baltimore County has changed a lot since 2006,” Leonard said. “It’s time for his office to change.”

Leonard lost a run for Delegate in District 42B in 2014 and then a much overhyped race for State Senate against Chris West in 2018. As a consolation prize, Leonard was elected Secretary for the Maryland Democratic Party.

His consistent rejection by voters is not what disqualifies him though this does.

Let us take you back to February 2019 when Leonard referred to gun owners as “homegrown terrorists” and suggested that the FBI investigates gun owners who attended hearings on gun bills heard in Annapolis today.

As I wrote at the time:

Leonard’s comments here should be deeply offensive to not just gun owners, but any sense of propriety. These individuals are not people who are committing crimes, they aren’t shooting anybody, and they aren’t threatening anybody.  Sure, one may quibble about the effectiveness of wearing a t-shirt. But these gun owners who came from across the state of Maryland today to testify against anti-gun legislation and who came to discuss responsible gun ownership weren’t hurting anybody. They were merely exercising their First Amendment rights of free speech, they were exercising their right to the redress of grievances by their government, and they were exercising their right to participate in the legislative process.

The people that Robbie Leonard wants to be labeled as terrorists and as people who should be monitored by the FBI haven’t done anything to anybody. They certainly weren’t accusing people of being terrorists like Robbie Leonard was.

And that’s what makes the concept of Leonard as a State’s Attorney so disturbing. He truly believes that those who support gun rights are beneath him. He doesn’t hate guns, he hates people who own guns.

While his views are disturbing enough, that’s what makes the idea of Leonard as State’s Attorney so disturbing. That office has a tremendous amount of power, particularly when it comes to investigating and prosecuting crimes. I have no doubt, given his comments and his commitment to radical left-wing politics, that Robbie Leonard would use the State’s Attorney’s office to harass his political opponents, particularly law-abiding gun owners. His rhetoric can lead us to no other conclusion.

The position of State’s Attorney is not a place that should be used to install partisan hacks with a history of anti-social behavior who think law abiding citizens should be doxxed. There is no doubt that Robbie Leonard is unfit to serve in any public office, but serving as a State’s Attorney with his background is probably the worst outcome of all.